The Monday before Thanksgiving we made a quick shopping trip to Iasi. There are some things you just can't buy here in Moldova. We made the trip and had lunch at one of the Chinese places in the food court of Palas Mall. Got pretty much everything we needed and got back just after nightfall, too!

This chapel is completely carved out of the salt mine, including all the chandeliers and statues and bas reliefs. It's also huge - about as big as a football field, with a ceiling about 40 feet high. The place is gorgeous. They rent it out for weddings and hold mass in it regularly. Even the floor, which looks like tile, is carved and polished salt.

Nate, Andreas's former boss who's currently stationed in Iraq, came back to Moldova in November to marry his sweetheart Vera. The wedding was beautiful and Mi Piace did a very good job of decorating. You can see the food in these photos. If anything, the photos don't show how much food there actually -was-. Because we were sitting with the groom's parents, our food was served on individual plates. Each item has some kind of significance in local culture. For example, the sweet table as you come in is so the marriage starts out as sweet as possible and stays that way. We left after one, when the wedding was beginning to wind down. It was a honor to be invited and a pleasure to meet Nate's parents.

You see these in the miner's route restoration areas, too. They're chandeliers made out of salt. All the crystals are salt from the mine. In previous centuries they were all candlelit. Now they've got light bulbs. Either way, they're gorgeous and huge.

Monday, December 29, 2014

I bought the yarn and started this scarf while we were in Krakow - I needed something to do while on the bus to Auschwitz. This was about three weeks before we found out we were moving to Angola next summer. So, what to do? Finish? Or give up? I decided to finish it and will gift it to someone. I'd wear it, but we're moving to Angola...

After a long day at work plus a necessary stop at the mall for groceries and cell phone payment, we decided to eat at Seasons. They are probably one of the most consistent restaurants in Moldova, with good service and good food. They're located in the mall, though, so you have to go through there to get to it. Live music Friday nights, at least, and it's got a good atmosphere.